I’m Digging on Rules of Three for Hiding a Gun

For any “when it’s time to bury my guns, its past time to use them” patriots, I would recommend reading Claire’s practical guide on why, how, what, and where to hide guns. Plus some cool bonus material at the end. If you’re digging on this article, check out more of her work over at Backwoods Home Living Freedom blog. 

by Claire Wolfe

Source: Backwoods Home Magazine 

My friend Jack pulled the car into a grassy clearing. We donned rubber boots, fetched a metal detector and digging tools from the trunk, and headed off along a game trail. Our mission: To dig up and test fire a pistol Jack had buried years ago.

The trail disappeared into a wetland, which Jack crossed with confidence. The muddy water was only about six inches deep where he walked, but I couldn’t see the bottom so I waded gingerly after him. It was at this point I discovered that my borrowed waterproof boots — weren’t. I squished along after Jack. By the time I emerged onto dry land, he was standing well ahead of me, next to the stump of an old cedar that had been logged a hundred years ago.

“It’s buried right here,” Jack told me confidently. “Between this stump and that sapling.”

I was dubious. The “sapling” wasn’t exactly a sapling anymore. It had grown into a mid-sized alder tree. Besides, Jack had history with not being able to relocate a buried firearm. Back in 2004, I had mocked him in one of my Backwoods Home Hardyville columns for that very thing, an SKS he couldn’t relocate.

Nevertheless, he set to breaking up roots. I followed with a shovel.

“I didn’t bury it very deep,” he said. “We shouldn’t have too much trouble.”

They’re at it again. The politicians in Washington, DC, and their media mouthpieces everywhere are in full cry, threatening more restrictions on our right to own guns.

In response, Americans are rushing to buy firearms, particularly those that might be targets of the next ban. Without a doubt, many guns are going underground or into other hiding places. When Draconian restrictions take effect, millions more firearms will get tucked into walls, haylofts, hollow trees, and waterproof containers buried in the woods.

There are people who say, “When it’s time to bury the guns, it’s actually time to dig them up and use them.” They have a point. But in fact, there are plenty of good reasons to hide guns, now or at any other time. And we’re not talking about simply concealing a gun to have it handy in home, office, or hotel room. We’re talking about hardcore, long-term hiding — stashing guns against some urgent future need.

My friend Jack, carrying a metal detector and digging implements, heads toward a game trail that leads to the site where he buried a pistol many years ago. The game trail is right in front of him but strangers would be unlikely to spot it because of the quick-growing blackberry bramble that’s obscured it.

Three reasons to hide a gun

You might want to hide a firearm just to have a spare if your others get stolen or damaged in a disaster.

You might want to hide a firearm if you are a peaceable person who is nevertheless forbidden to own a gun because of some misdeed in your past or some arbitrary state law.

And of course, you might want to hide a firearm if you fear nationwide bans and confiscations but realize that you can’t stand alone against the gun banners.

Read the rest here

 

What Constitutes a Weapon? – by a 15 Year Old Author

I received an email from Carl Watner who produces The Voluntaryrist newsletter. He has graciously agreed to allow me to reprint an article his 15-year-old son wrote ten years ago – way before our latest “lone gunman” shooting in Newtown. I’m not sure, but from the looks of his son’s writing ability, I’d bet he skipped out on the compulsory educational system know as public schooling.

Samson’s wild weapon of choice

You can view more of The Voluntarist and subscribe if you wish via mail at: Carl Watner, Box 275, Gramlnig SC 29348 or email at: voluntaryist@windstream.net

What Constitutes a Weapon?

By William Watner

What is a weapon? Does it have to be big? Sharp? Powerful? Does it have to be something you can grab? Something others can destroy? What is a weapon? A weapon can be grasped, but it also can bet ungraspable. Weapons are very useful when not used as weapons. A weapon is a tool. A sheath knife can be a very effective weapon in the hands of a trained user, and can also be used to clean deer. Almost all weapons have a double ‘existence’, guns particularly. Major Smith and the rest of the crew have been saying: your best survival tool is the one between your ears. I would like to add to that. Your best weapon is the one between your ears.

A weapon generally has the capability to destroy in some way. Therefore a baseball bat can be classified as a weapon. A golf club could be just as lethal. For that matter a cast iron tea kettle would be extremely effective at close range.

The Netherlands is a good example of where the seed of weapon confiscation has bloomed and blossomed, and where it ultimately leads. The Government of the Netherlands is asking for the voluntary turn-in of weapons (those that turn in guns don’t face risk of prosecution). This includes baseball bats, CO2 pistols, and alarm pistols (from the journal of the NRA, THE AMERICAN RIFLEMAN, Feb. 2001, p. 73). Where will they stop? Where can they stop? They really can’t coercively confiscate all sport items, or can they?

One of the most interesting weapons, and effective at the right time, is non-violent resistance. It is a weapon, but not a violent one. It takes more guts to stand firm than to fall back on your animal instinct to fight. It means not cooperating with what you think is wrong or evil. Which brings to mind another weapon, a very valuable weapon, one which can’t be taken away without your consent:

It is your spirit; the flame that burns within each and every one of us. This, along with your brain, constitutes the two weapons that nobody, even if they have complete power over your physical body, can steal or put out. “But can’t they kill me?”, you say. Yes, they can. But all that does is entomb your spirit in history and eternity forever. When you are dead, your spirit is even further beyond their grasp than before. Look at Jesus as an example for a spirit never caught, a flame that will never be stamped out.

As Jungle Jim said recently, there are entities in the world that are trying to dumb down our spirits and our brains. ‘They’ are trying to make our flames burn low. Instead of trying to draw up the lowest flame to the highest (which can only be done voluntarily, not coercively), ‘they’ try to beat the highest ones down to the lowest. They’ are trying to make our brains follow them, the State, unquestioningly,
and not even to think about morals or right or wrong.

So what does make a weapon? To make it short and sweet, I would say it is anything that can be used in any way against your enemy.

As the last word, my advice is: Use your body—your spirit–your brain—and whatever tools you have, to your best advantage, whatever your situation.
[This article originally appeared in THE HOMESTEADER
(No. 10, Spring 2002), published quarterly
by Major Michael Smith.]

The following boxed quote was included with William’s article:

The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the minds of the oppressed.

—Steven Biko, South African Activist

Guns In Schools: A Teachers Response

Evil abounds.

I’m at a loss. I have no way of expressing my deep feelings of sympathy, regret, and anger over yesterday’s events. To the moms, dads, brothers, sisters and families, all I can do is pray for some kind of comfort. I have no idea how you will get through this wasting of life.

As the radio squawked the news, my first thoughts were on my 5-year old grandson. Then to my sister who teaches kindergarten.

Anger abounds.

A system wide email put us on “soft lock down” yesterday in the wake of unfathomable evil committed in Sandy Hook. I heard the horrible news on the radio returning from an errand at our the county board office. I was in my room during planning when a fellow teacher friend stopped by to talk.

“Who does something like this? I mean he killed little babies in a classroom!” he said.

He then asked me if stun guns were legal to carry in school. He wanted some kind of protection if a maniac decides to visit ours. I showed him my plans, my tools, my teacher’s toolbox. Showing him my new addition to my toolbox, wasp spray with a 22 feet spraying distance, I advised him to go buy a can and keep it in his desk. It’s not much, but it beats cowering under a desk.

Another teacher and I talked in the hall. He thinks that school construction will have to change. They’ll have to start building schools like prisons he said. Everyone enters into a holding room to be checked out before they’re allowed to join the schooled population. Bad idea. Our schools are too similar to prisons now.

Next, I asked my friend why there were no mass shootings at police precincts in this country. Simple. They all carry have guns. They don’t work in Victim Zones like we do. We’re defenseless ducks waiting on a load of lead. My school has one very out-of-shape resource officer with a sidearm on his duty belt to “protect” 850 possible victims. As you can imagine, the odds of him being in the right place, at the right time to stop a shooting spree is very unlikely.

First step in my solution?

Arm the teachers like Israel and South Africa. Word would spread. Thugs and scum choose their killing fields based on the avenue of least resistance. Dirt Road Girl and I named several fellow teachers that would jump at the chance to go through any training, initial and on going, to be able to carry real tools of self-defense in our “victim zones.”

Gun-grabbers like Michael Moore and Piers Morgan, with the aid of our MSM dancing through the blood of innocents, will tar and feather me for suggesting my solution. So guns would be in classrooms? Won’t that endanger the children? This morning there are devastated, grief-stricken families that would have loved for their child’s teacher to have been trained and armed yesterday. Maybe the brightly wrapped Christmas presents under their trees could have been opened.

The collective has done a superb job at brainwashing the schooled children and parents in our society. Our state public policy for Weapons Free Zones invites violence. They say they’re concerned about the children’s safety to get re-elected. The system is rigged. The weak and defenseless are easily exploited by the strong. The tragedy in Connecticut sums up the death and destruction visited upon fellow humans by an institution whose objective is to plunder, steal, and kill. Don’t tell me Weapons Free Zones for the children’s safety!

If a handful of trained teachers been allowed to carry guns in the building, the senseless killings could have been prevented, or at least minimized. As a teacher, my natural right to self-defense can only be exercised with wasp spray and a jawbone of an ass.

Still doing the stuff,

Todd

 

Home Preparedness Guidelines

Source: Sensible Survival

Before you start on a program of home preparedness there are several questions that you need to ask yourself:

(1) What am I preparing for?

This list could include short-term power outage, seasonal weather like tornadoes or hurricanes, earthquake, unemployment, interruption to the economic system, collapse of the economic system, break-down of the social order, insurrections or riots, nuclear or biological war, electro-magnetic pulse attack, asteroid collision, and who knows what.

(2) Am I currently living in a survivable and defensible location?

Are you in a big city? (not good)  Do you live in a small town? (better)  Do you live in a rural community? (better still)  Do you live on a farm at least two hours from a major metropolitan area? (very good)  Are you well established on your farm with a good support group of like-minded neighbors? (best)

(3) What kind of financial resources do I have to devote to preparedness?

Preparedness is an investment, just like a bank account or stocks and bonds.  Some people live paycheck to paycheck and don’t have funds for investment.  Don’t let this stop you from preparing to the extent that you can.  Some people have money to invest, but they spend it on things that they want in the here and now.  Not a good approach to home preparedness or to life in general.  If this is you, you’re probably not reading this anyway.  Some people invest in bank accounts, stocks, bonds, 401K’s, life insurance, health insurance, long-term disability insurance, etc.  A person with this kind of money to invest can easily redirect part of their investment to home preparedness.  The amount would depend entirely on what level of commitment the individual wants to make, but I wouldn’t cash in my 401K or cancel my life insurance for the sake of preparedness.  Keep things in perspective.  You’re a lot more likely to retire than you are to get hit by an asteroid.  I hope.

So how should you go about preparing?

Read the rest here

Photo  credit: http://wallpapers.pixxp.com/

My MacGyvered Teacher Toolbox for Self-Defense

I’m a sitting duck. I work in a Weapons Free Zone – (A.K.A.) Victim Zone – with 850 potential victims.

We hate to entertain the thought – especially during the holiday season – of a crazed, heavily armed student strolling into school and spraying lead like he’s playing a video game. But it has happened – and could happen again. How likely would a massacre happen at your child’s school? Don’t know. One set on killing will simply stroll through the front door with the “No Weapons” sign posted. I’d call this fear mongering if school shootings had never occurred.

Bringing pencils and paper to a gun fight

I am not allowed to carry my normal tools of self-defense to my government school since I don’t wear a funny hat and uniform. That leaves me vulnerable. So, to minimize my sitting-duck-ness, I employ what’s legally available.

In any trade, craftsmen need the proper tools to get the job done right. My teacher tool box doesn’t contain bulletin board trim, red pens, pencils, or gold stars. My red toolbox is full of real hand tools.

I’m the resident school handyman. Teachers and administrators ask me to fix stuff from shelving to hanging white erase boards. Well, that requires tools. Think redundancy here. The small toolbox pictured above serves two purposes:

• The intended purpose – fix stuff
• Alternative purpose – tools of defense if necessary

Here’s a run down of my alternative tools of defense I’d employ only if escape and evasion is not possible with an active shooter inside the building. NOTE: This is my plan. Your mileage may vary. I’m not advocating that others (adult or student) use my plan. Until the Powers That Be issue me a permission slip (I’m not holding my breath on this one) to carry real tools of self-defense to my job, I’ll have to improvise. I mean, what makes the funny-hat-crowd more ‘qualified’ to carry guns into schools? That’s a topic for later discussion.

1.) Annihilator Ultimate Wrecking Bar

I bought this one just for my teacher toolbox. I’ve used to open a stuck locker before. It even has a bottle opener. It would make an improvised throwing axe if a target was in range. Closer, and with an element of surprise, it offers skull/bone demolition.

2.) Jawbone of an ass. Samson, of Bible fame, used a jawbone to put the smack-down on 1,000 Philistines. I’m not sure which animal donated this one. A fellow teacher brought it to me from a pasture. From an ass or not, it’s a menacing weapon in my Science class.

Samson’s wild weapon of choice

You’ll also notice a hoe handle and juggling pin in the photo of the toolbox at the top of this post. The hoe handle has the metal end attached. I found it in the throw away pile in the back of the school. Two more alternative tools of defense in my arsenal.

3.) Flashlight. Being a flashaholic, I carry a Streamlight ProTac 2L in my pocket at school. The tail button switches from high, strobe, and low. Strobe would be useful in a dark environment to disorient attackers and give me time to escape or use another improvised tool of violence on the shooter.

Clockwise from top: Aluminum clipboard, Swiss Army knife, StreamLight ProTac 2L flashlight

• Clipboard – From my contractor days, this tool filled with paper might stop a small-caliber pistol bullet intended for vital bodily parts. I’ll have to put it through testing to find out for sure.
• The Swiss Army knife serves as pencil sharpener, nail trimmer, screw tightener, and other handy tasks. It’s not for self-defense. It’s always in my pocket at school.

Escape is the first order of action. Which leads me to ….

4.) Alternate escape/concealed route. Bringing pencils to a gun fight is a bad idea. Escaping from the threat is first priority. If running out of the building exits is not an option for me and my kids, we will barricade the locked classroom door, climb on the lockers and hide in the ceiling until the treat is neutralized. Experts say that these types of incidents last between 3 to 15 minutes on average. There’s not much room to move about between the drop ceiling and the roof. But sitting quietly on the cinder block walls in the crawl space might work. If I’m without kids, I can move to the end of the hall along the top of the wall and drop into the hall at the exit door to make an escape.

On barricading my door, I have enough solid furniture to wedge between the door and the opposite wall. Making my door “hardened” might buy enough time to escape through the ceiling or shelter in place until good guys with guns show up.

Through the ceiling hideout

Peeking into the ceiling with my flashlight

5.) Fire Extinguisher. A blast from this to the face may give me the advantage needed to escape or overcome the attacker.

Unload on the shooter

I’ve tried to think of alternative weapon legally available to me in my gun-free work environment. While they are no match to a heavily armed crazy man, thinking ahead might save my life and those in my care.

Got any more ideas on tools to add to my teacher toolbox? I’d really appreciate hearing from you.

Doing the stuff,

Todd

 

6 Deadly Assumptions About Violence

Photo credit

The “Treadmill Defense” made me laugh. Great idea! If it were only that simple. What if a zombie accidentally hits the kill switch? I think we all make silly assumptions about how to defend our property and person.

I was going to writing about the importance of shelter in this installment of my Individual Preparedness Series. My direction changed. You see, our daughter-in-law, having never fired a gun, wanted to shot a couple of our pistols. She was never exposed to these valuable tools growing up. After some basic instruction, she did quite well in her first shooting session at a five yard range. I think she’s hooked. I passed on a review from Docwatmo over at Average Guy Reviews on the XD9 Subcompact to our son for their consideration.

Staring over our fiscal cliff, home invasions and violent crime are increasing and not likely to decrease anytime soon. This article would become a book if I attempted to cover the many aspects of home and personal defense. Let me say upfront that I’m not an expert in self-defense. Never allow anything I write (or anyone else for that matter) override your real-life experience and common sense.

Most people, including myself, have never faced a real violent encounter. The more I think I know, the more I begin to see how little I know. I’ve always heard that the majority of shooting happen at up close and personal like. How close? Two yards are less. David Nash over at Shepherd School sites some real world stats:

These FBI-compiled numbers have been pretty much the same for many years: 50% of LEOs killed are killed at five feet or less, and 75% killed are killed at ten feet or less.   The second source is the Police Marksman Association survey done in 1992 showing the average police gunfight was won at about 20 feet seven yards (but note that this conclusion was from a pretty small sample.)   Finally, there is the data from NYPD’s SOP-9 that indicates that from 1994-2000, 69% of their shootings (of all types) were at two yards or less, and 88% were at seven yards of less.  These numbers are pretty consistent from year to year.

Priorities dictate that we address our most immediate threats. Evidently, they’ll be real close. Spending range time shooting handguns at paper targets 25 yards away is not the best use of time or ammo. Statistically speaking, long shots (over 10 yards) are not likely. It’s not so alpha-male-ish to shoot human silhouettes that you could almost touch with your outstretched hand. Ego wants to demonstrate my long shot accuracy. Could I hit that target when a chemical dump occurs in me when facing a kill or be killed violent encounter? I hope to never find out.

I’ve been guilty in the past of preparing for home and self-defense based on theory. I’ve been in fights growing up and one legitimate street brawl that Mama caused. Sounds like the making of a great country song. I’ll not divulge details now. Maybe later. The street brawl was nothing close to those you see in the movies. There was no script. Just crazy mayhem. See if any of these assumptions are putting you and yours in danger.

6 Deadly Assumptions

1.) I live in a “safe” neighborhood. A fellow teacher friend of mine had me over to install a security storm door and two motion detection flood lights on her house last month. She and her family live in an upper middle class neighborhood. Some thugs recently broke into a house two doors down, through the garage door, at 10:00 a.m. The next door neighbor was home during the robbery.

Never take for granted that your surroundings are safe.

2.) Violent encounters in the real world are similar to Hollywood versions. The good guys never run out of bullets and are able to summon superhuman strength to beat the bad guy. In my mind that’s a great theory. The theory is only helpful if it works – which is usually not the case. Let’s erase the visions of mall ninjas and Rambo action heroes. Predators don’t fight fair. There won’t be a referee to stop the guy before you lose that last breath of air “tapping out.” All the black belts you have won’t save you.

3.) Rules of engagement apply. There are no rules when dealing with violent criminals. They don’t fight fair. If you are fighting fair, you’ll loose and possible die. Criminals intent on violence don’t worry that you’ve had years of martial arts training or achieved top-gun status at your gun range. They get to pick the time and types of bad things to do to us. Their advantage is the element of surprise. It immediately puts us in the  mode of self-defense. Self-defense is reacting and recovering from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In my coaching days, I worked on both sides of the football. I made my living on the offensive side. I liked the advantage of knowing where we would attack. The defense was always guessing even though they knew our tendencies. I’ve always been told to go on the offensive in any unavoidable violent encounter. Take the violence to the attacker. This is not a school yard chicken dance with kids bumping chests and gums. In life or death situations, do whatever it takes to get the job done. The job will require losing our moral codes and niceness and do unthinkable violence to the him. That’s his intent for us.

4.) The police will help. I’ll not beat this dead horse. Even if you have time to dial 911, the response time is usually so slow they have to make a report and inform the next of kin. The police are not obligated to protect individual citizens no matter what the motto on the black and white cruiser says. NEVER delegate responsibility for your safety to someone else. With cities going bankrupt, we do indeed need to lock our doors and load our guns. San Bernardino has seen a 50 percent increase in murders this year. Don’t be a statistic.

5.) I am trained to handle violence. This has been a difficult article to write. Being a civilized, moral person, it’s depressing to delve into the mind of violent thuggery. Unless you’ve experienced this kind of violence and lived to tell about it, I don’t think it’s possible to fully wrap our minds around what it takes to flip the switch and become violent. From everything I’ve read (people with actual experience) and seen in real life, no one single act of violence is the same. No amount of controlled training in a class can prepare us for real world violence. Yes, Chuck Norris groupies are included here. You are a resource to predators. A piece of meat. There are no gyms that I know of that allows students to destroy/kill other students. Membership would shrink greatly. But that’s what it takes to stop predators hellbent on their mission – destroy, rape, pillage, and kill.

Will our social training and martial arts classes save us? I’m not anti-training. Get all you can get. I just don’t want you to assume that you’re trained for real violent encounters when your attacker forgets the rule about tapping out. Knowing how to perform roundhouse kicks is not enough. Being mentally able to flip the switch from controlled, moral, socialized citizen, to a primal eat-or-be-eaten violence machine is necessary – and dark – and outside the paradigm of who we say we are. I told you it’s depressing.

6.) I’m safe because I carry a gun. While I highly recommend this tool, it offers no guarantee of safety. Carrying my weapon gives me some sense of security. I’m not overconfident or cocky when carrying. Being aware of situations and surroundings is helpful. It’d be convenient if predators could be identified by external appearance. We simply can’t tell sometimes.

I’ve never shot another human being with a gun, unless BB gun wars count. They don’t. A higher standard is imposed on gun-totters. To quote Boston T. Party on why to pull the trigger, “You shot to stop – not to kill. Any kill is incidental, unless the only way to stop his lethal actions was to kill.” Mr. Royce does a great job explaining your responsibility and liability when pulling the trigger in Boston’s Gun Bible – a must read for anyone carrying weapons, concerned about liberty, personal safety, and defense. A gun is designed to put distance between you and those intending to harm you. After a certain distance, the threat is no longer a threat. It’s the great equalizer. Dirt Road Girl has an advantage over a 250 pound thug if she has her gun in hand.

A human being is the most dangerous animal in the world as it alone has the ability to strike a deadly blow at a distance. – Boston’s Gun Bible, p. 4/1

Neither DRG or I have had training from shooting professionals. Expert training is prohibitively expensive for us. We are self-taught. There are many learning tools on the internet and in books that have helped us. For affordable rifleman training, I’ve been planning to attend Project Appleseed. From their site: Through Project Appleseed, the Revolutionary War Veterans Association is committed to teaching two things: rifle marksmanship and our early American heritage.

When we assume, as the saying goes, it makes an ass out of u and me.

Are you guilty of any of these deadly assumptions? I’m sure you have some to add. Please leave a comment and share freely.

Doing the stuff,

Todd

 

Springfield XD9 Subcompact Full Review

For anyone considering concealed carry, Docwatmo wrote a review on the Springfield XD9 Subcompact over at his site, Average Guy Reviews. I’m a fan of XD’s and highly recommend owning one or several. NOTE: I don’t own stock in the company or receive any compensation from Springfield Armory or from any other product I recommend on this site. If that ever changes, and join the ranks of the big boys and girls, I’ll let you know. I intentionally don’t advertise on my site. If I promote a product, it’s because I found it useful.

Doing the stuff,

Todd

By Docwatmo

OK, I’ve had this baby at the range and am pretty darn happy with it.  I’m going to give it a thorough rundown.   First of all let’s talk about price.  You can get this guy from $300 to $500 (Don’t pay more than $500 for it; you can get it just about anywhere for less than $500).   It comes in two kits, The standard kit (Reviewed below) and the “Essentials” kit which drops the Holster, the reloading tool and the magazine belt pouch.  (See further down on the review for those components).  I’d recommend getting the essentials kit at a much lower price and getting your own personal preference in magazine and holsters.

Full Kit, 13 and 16 round mags, reloading tool, dual belt pouch, holster, gun lock and bore brush.

Let’s start with the magazines, this kit came with one 13 round mag (Flush) and one 16 round with grip extension.  I have large hands and the 13 round mag turns this into a 2 finger gun for me.  My wife has small hands and all 3 of her grip fingers are on the grip with the 13 round mag.  So I did pick up a Pierce Magazine extension.  This adds the length to the forward part of the grip to equal a full size mag, but still tapers back down to reduce the butt signature of the weapon to a point about ½ way between flush and full mag extensions.   This is a great compromise for me, still keeps the weapon small enough to carry easily while providing a full size grip for control.   Pierce grips are about $10 on Amazon.  See the two pics below for the visual difference with and without the pierce grip extension.  The magazines are stainless and slide like butter into the mag well of the XD.  Also the mag well is beveled very nicely and makes magazine swaps very quick and easy.  I did notice that the mag with the pierce grip extension was a bit harder to seat at first, but after a couple dozen mag exchanges it’s straightened out and works as well as the others.

Read the rest here

Protecting Yourself and Your Property After a Disaster

Chris Ray of Prepared Christian writes excellent advice for self-protection. I also want to thank Chris for posting Neighboring Matters on his site. Be sure to visit his site.

November 19, 2012 By Chris Ray

Scenario:  Jerusalem has been devastated by war and is in ruins.  It’s walls have been broken down and it’s gates burned by fire.  Nehemiah, King Artaxerxes’ cup bearer, has received permission from the king to go to Jerusalem and rebuild it.  Their enemies have plotted to catch them unaware, kill them and stop their work.  Nehemiah has discovered this and decides:

Neh 4:16 From that day on, half of my men did the work, while the other half were equipped with spears, shields, bows and armor. The officers posted themselves behind all the people of Judah 4:17 who were building the wall. Those who carried materials did their work with one hand and held a weapon in the other, 4:18 and each of the builders wore his sword at his side as he worked. But the man who sounded the trumpet stayed with me. 4:19 Then I said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, “The work is extensive and spread out, and we are widely separated from each other along the wall. 4:20 Wherever you hear the sound of the trumpet, join us there. Our God will fight for us!” 4:21 So we continued the work with half the men holding spears, from the first light of dawn till the stars came out. 4:22 At that time I also said to the people, “Have every man and his helper stay inside Jerusalem at night, so they can serve us as guards by night and workmen by day.” 4:23 Neither I nor my brothers nor my men nor the guards with me took off our clothes; each had his weapon, even when he went for water.

In every medium to large scale natural disaster there are people who come to the area to loot.  There is a second group of people; “disaster tourists”.  These are people who want to go to the disaster area to see, in person, what they have seen on TV.  One of these is obviously a criminal but the other isn’t as nefarious, at least not on purpose.

Looters

These dirtbags pray on the misfortune of others during what might be the worst time in their life.  I have heard of people both sneaking around and stealing items that have been relocated by the event, as well as people dressing up, pretending to be representatives from utility companies.  I have also heard reports of items gone missing once a restoration company is hired, the home owner believing their contractor’s employees stole from them.

Read the rest here

Avoid Being Low Hanging Fruit During Holidays

If you have to go shopping in those crazy crowds, read this first. It applies to everyday, but especially during the holidays. This is a guest post by Norseman over at WilderWolf.net.

How NOT to become a Holiday Season Victim

By Norseman On December 14, 2011

Some simple things that we can do on a daily basis to avoid scams, crooks and all manner of misfortunes during the season for taking. Well, it is that time of the year again, the holiday season and the time for the last rush to get the shopping done. This is the premiere time for criminals and crooks to take advantage of those hard working Americans that are already stressed. There are few people that can claim no extra stress during the holidays, and there is no coincidence that this is the highest suicide season of the year. Along with that stress and last minute rush is born an opportunity for the dregs of society to apply their trade, they too are under holiday stress and this is the season to take advantage.

Handing Over The Cash

There are a number of different techniques that thieves and scammer use to liberate you from your possessions. I cannot possibly cover all of them in the context of a blog post but I can cover some of the more common ones. Additionally I can cover some of the main techniques that you can use to avoid becoming the mark. Let’s begin with personal perception. It is basic human nature to assume until proven otherwise, that the person you are talking too is just like you. If you are a good hearted person that cares about the welfare of others, it is natural to believe at least initially that the people you come in contact with are the same. Inversely, if you are a crook or a criminal you tend to think that everyone you come in contact with is motivated by the factors. So before we begin you need to cast off those perceptions and make no assumptions about the people you meet either way. Allow them to “show” you who they are and consider dealing with them based on that initial engagement.

In order for someone to take advantage of your good nature they must first select you as a potential target of opportunity. This is done through surveillance and later mild contact. These criminals have very finely honed perception skills and will pick only the easiest of targets. The targets are selected based on awareness, threat, and potential gain. Your first defense is to make yourself a “hard target” this is often the only deterrent that you need. The surveillance conducted by these criminals is not usually as elaborate as that of police and investigators, but is always well rehearsed and often conducted by small teams working in concert. The person or persons committing the scam or attack will not necessarily be the ones that are doing the surveillance.

Read the rest here

The Regular Guy Strategy: Escaping Prepper Prison

I read lots of folks lamenting over family and friends who don’t embrace prepping. I can’t blame them. Images of being holed up in an underground bunker, sleeping on a canvas cot, crapping in a coffee can doesn’t appeal to them. Me either.

Even though it’s going more mainstream, “prepping” is prison. You feel shackled. You can’t tell anyone you’re storing extra food, bullets, or even band aids. If we don’t observe OpSec (Operational Security) we get labeled “prepper”, ”survivalists” – or even worse, extremist. We wake up in a puddle of sweat worried that we’re not ready for TEOTWAWKI and TSHTF because we’re not living off-grid in the boonies with three years of food storage, fuel storage, and the latest weapons. We’re scared to build community – afraid to blow our cover. It’s that OpSec thing again.

Welcome to Prepper Prison. The bars and razor wire are in our minds and souls. Fear rules. Doom and gloom is upon us! The experts tell us how to get ready. What to buy. Skills to learn. Books to read. Where to move. Lists to make. Here’s a news flash: We’ll never be completely ready. You might possess expert knowledge in one area, but no person can do it all. Don’t underestimate the importance of community in making your jailbreak.

I began tunneling out of my cell last month. I felt like “Andy” in Shawshank Redemption. He was wrongly convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He finally quite accepting the institutional ‘authorities’ plan for his life. He planned his escape. He had lots of time and a will to be free. His tools of freedom were a rock hammer, a pin-up poster, and his fellow inmates – “Red” in particular. Pressure and time did the rest. It was a simple choice: “Get busy living, or get busy dying.” He chose living.

I often wonder if I’m good enough. Do I have enough stuff to get me through the next two inches of snow? Don’t laugh my Yankee friends. We shut down around here with a light dusting. A run on bread, milk, eggs, and PBR soon follows.

With Dirt Road Girl not working, we’ve slashed our survival supplies. Honesty is a crazy quality. I’m the first to admit I’m no guru at preparedness or self-reliance. I’m just a regular guy trying to become as self-reliant and prepared as humanly possible. Compared to preparedness experts, and I’ve read many of their books, I don’t even come close to being ready. I don’t own any night vision goggles or fancy optics for my guns. Would those be cool to own? Sure. I just don’t have $3,000.00 extra fiat dollars lying on top of my stash of gold bullion. Dang, I forgot OPSEC! There is no gold in my underground bunker. Now that we are in Great Depression II, I’m guessing many are a little short on money to buy what the ‘experts’ recommend. So I thought I’d share my Regular Guy Preparedness Plan.

1.) Build community. This is a freebie. It cost some time, but that’s it. Building relationships in the community is the most important, yet it’s a glaring weakness of mine. A lone wolf will always object to this strategy. I realize the importance of flying under the radar. Uninvited attention is bad. I got that part. It’s just so anti-me in the other compartments of my life. I’m very social. So are we stuck with the YOYO (Your Own Your Own) method of survival? Not hardly. Retreating to the jungle to live off the land is so Hollywood. Stop the fantasy.

Is mediocre good enough? I hope so. I’m a serial multi-tasker – read mediocre at lots of stuff. I’m also well aware that I can’t provide all that I need for long-term survival. I’m below average at first aid and medical skills. I’m not going to spend time trying to become a combat field doctor or a RN. I’m not that interested in the field. For those that are, great! For our immediate group, we have someone who is medically trained. Then there’s that motor head cousin of mine that can rebuild an engine blindfolded. Not me. I can do the basics. There are other areas that need to be shored up in our group. That’s where building community comes in. But how?

Here are some places to network, build community, and plan your prison-break.

• Local meet up groups. Face to face and local is both real and productive.
• Family – if possible. This one is often times the hardest to penetrate in many cases. This is whispered at some Thanksgiving dinners – “Okay sweetie, stay away from crazy Uncle Henry. He totes guns and raises chickens in his yard.“
• Local farmers markets and food co-ops. Buying local builds community.
• Gun/hunting/hiking/outdoor clubs. It’s easy to bring up preparedness speak with folks sitting around a fire eating beans and sipping rot-gut coffee or bourbon. “Man, what if we had to do this for more than a long weekend?“
• Church, school, and work. Like fishing, you have to go where they are to catch them. Even then, they don’t always take what you offer.
• Internet prepper groups: Wolfe Blog, Prepper Groups, American Preppers Network, Alt-Market, A.N.T.S. (Americans Networking To Survive). Be wise about sharing personal info until you establish trust. Face to face meetings can follow when both parties are ready. I know, it sounds like online dating.

2.) Regular Guy Skills. People tell me I’m handy – right before they ask me to do stuff for free. I like adding skills to my toolbox. I’m best at those that I enjoy and interest me. You probably are too. Skills don’t cost much, but offer a great return on my time. Here are some Regular Guy Skills I find helpful and relatively cheap:

Chemistry: The most overlooked skill in survival. I’d like to recommend “Caveman Chemistry” by Kevin M. Dunn. Mr. Dunn offers 28 projects to help you become a producer, more self-reliant, and a cool science nerd. Want to make your own mead, gunpowder, soap, pharmaceuticals, and plastics? Get the book.

Build stuff with your hands. If you already do this in your day job, start reading the book above. Or try this one: Making It: Radical Home Ec for a Post-Consumer World. Read broadly to stretch your mind outside the preparedness world. Diversify.

For those that are trapped in cubicle hell, find little things to do around the house to shrink that honey-do-list. Make your own gear. Learn to restore and sharpen an axe or other bladed tool. Here’s an old adze I restored last month.

Treating an adze I found at a flea market

I recently made a cedar bench for Dirt Road Girl with pioneer hand tools – I did cheat and use my chainsaw twice. I ended up building a shaving horse in the process. Another useful bonus tool created from this bench project.

Make stuff with paracord.

Learn to sew. Check out my wool hunting shirt I made from a 20 dollar, 100% wool army blanket.

More Dave Canterbury inspired gear

Stock your toolbox. You can pick up pioneer tools and other off-grid hand tools cheaply at yard sales, estate sales, Free Cycle, thrift stores, and grandma’s attic. I like new stuff as long as it’s old. I bought a set of bits and a brace from a guy off the side of the road for $10. The local antique malls charge $25 to $45 for these items. If you buy nice, you only buy once. Avoid cheaply made junk.

Bits for my brace

What’s on your wall?

Wish these were mine. Shot these at the Foxfire Museum this summer.

3.) Regular Guy Priorities. I use conventional wisdom from experts when preparing for SHTF sometimes. Chew on the hay, spit out the sticks. Other times I kick conventional wisdom to the curb. I’m unorthodox. For instance, I don’t store a lot of wheat. Your kidding, right!? No. It’s not something I eat. The experts tell me to stock things that I use in my eating plan now and practice cooking from my food storage. I stock stuff I eat. There’s logic for ya.

I write IEP’s (Individualized Education Plan) for students with special needs. Preparedness should be no different. Each of us should write our own IPP (Individualized Preparedness Plan). There so much information out there that most folks have no idea where to start. Avoid information overload by starting with your unique, individual situation. Throw out the cookie cutter books and build your own IPP. Priorities for your family will differ from our family (ex: environment, finances, mindset, fitness level, diet, health, spirituality, location, etc.).

Start with the basics: water, food, shelter, and a way to protect yourself. This is enough material for an article all to itself. I’ll try to keep it short. Develop your IPP based on your individualized needs. I hope I’m preaching to the choir about self-defense. If you’re not comfortable owning evil guns, develop a plan to defend your family with other tools. Guns are simply tools by the way. No different from your Smart Car, garden hoe, or blender. Your faith may be a roadblock to owning these fine tools. If so, check out Kathy Jackson’s article tackling Christians and Passivism.

If you’ve got a spring or well on your property, water is less a priority than someone who lives in the Arizona desert. My point here is to keep ringing the individualized bell. Break the mold. Be yourself. Prepare for yourself and the unique needs of your family… no matter what the experts tell you. To assume their plan will work for you and me is dangerous and costly. Think. For. Yourself.

Look, I just gave you the best advice ever. Does that make me an expert now?

Doing the stuff,

Todd